Flash Fiction #499 -- Baiting with Trolls

(This is perhaps the third or forth Grik and Dan story.  I hope you enjoy it)

 

 I stood at the bottom of the stone stairs to the police station and waited for Grik to bring the unmarked van we usually drove.  He liked to go get it because Rock Trolls usually didn't drive vehicles of any sort.  Grik was one of only ten Rock Trolls in the city with a driver's license, but he didn't own a car of his own.  They didn't make them in troll sizes.  Even the van was a tight fit.

A familiar black Vette pulled up, illegally pointing the wrong way, and Officer Brett Conner stuck his head out and gave a big, fake smile.

"Hey, Dan," he said.  "Haven't seen you for a while.  Waiting for your pretty partner?"

"Waiting for Grik, yes," I replied with my own fake smile.  "I'll let him know you think he's pretty.  You never know what might happen.  Ah, there he is now."

Brett hit the gas, barely swerved around the oncoming van, and ducked into the lot.

Grik got out of the van and let me take the wheel.  I'd gotten better at readjusting the seat and steering wheel.

"Was that Connor?" Grik asked as he climbed in.  I'd already put on my seatbelt, but I still held on tight as the van bounced.

"Yes." I got us moving.  "He asked if I was waiting for my pretty partner."

Grik grunted.  Then he smiled, and it did not look friendly.  "We can play with that."

I'm glad I agreed because it was all the fun we had that week.

Our case was going nowhere.  A huntin faction had begun striking at various spots in the city, killing a dozen (exactly) humans and then disappearing again.  Grik and I had shown some ability in finding huntins, so the Captain sent us out.

The price of doing your work well, I guess.

Huntins are eight feet tall, spindly, and insectoid. Some people think they arrived through the hole in reality that linked us with the faelands.  Some thought they were local mutations brought on by the hole in reality that connected us with the faelands.  Still others thought they were alien invaders drawn to us by the hole in reality...

You get the idea.

"There is always some madness in love," Grik said on our sixth day out. We'd just left the precinct.  
 
"Frederiche Nietzsche," I said.  Then I nodded.  "That's the best one so far.  Shall we have it done on a card?  Black background, embossed gold lettering?  Maybe a dozen roses?"

"Have you seen the price of roses?" Grik demanded.  Then he gave me an odd look.  "When was the last time you ... what do you humans call it?  Dated?"

"Longer than I want to think about," I admitted.  "No roses."

"I think a pretty rock would be better."

I laughed -- but that cut off quickly as our communications barked out orders to get to the site of a current attack.  It was, of course, in the opposite direction.

"Lights and siren, Grik," I ordered.  I was already spinning us around to go the other way, much to the consternation and anger of others.  A dozen cars honked.  Didn't they know there was a sound ordinance here?  They stopped as soon as the siren started.

We went back past the precinct as Brett was pulling out in a convertible this time.  Grik leaned out the window and waved, and Brett backed up before we had even gone by.

"Good work," I said.

Grik grunted.

The site was only about twenty blocks away, and this was our first chance to get there with the huntins still in place.  I drove with less caution than usual and narrowly avoided two accidents -- but then we were at the street.  

People were running and screaming, some of them with children in their arms.  Seeing Grik startled them, but they mostly just ran faster.  Good.

"Manhole is up.  We were right," I said as I drew my gun.

Grik went to the back of the van and pulled out two bazookas and a shoulder bag of sonic grenades.  I took the bag, and he loaded the bazookas.

"Third house on the right," someone shouted as she ran past a little dog in her arms.

"Thanks!"

"Should we thank them?" Grik asked as he left giant footprints in the otherwise perfect lawns.

"Better we know than the huntin spot us first."

He nodded and didn't grunt this time.

I wouldn't have realized the huntin were in the house, even with the door open.  Most of the doors were open, and the places looked abandoned.  Maybe she had the house wrong --

The moment we stepped in, I knew we had the right place.  It wasn't a scent or an unnatural shadow.  I just knew -- mainly because one dropped from the ceiling onto me.

Grik killed it before the creature injected me with poison.  Then we went after the rest.  We'd killed fifteen of them before any of the rest of the police arrived.  By then, I had a killer headache thanks to the sonics, but we'd splattered all but two of them across the walls.  The owner would have to rebuild.

My shoulders ached where the huntin had landed on me.  I was having trouble turning my head.  But we'd done good work.  Maybe we'd taken out all of the group doing the killing, too.  I'd like a break.

An extermination squad checked the manhole, and we declined to scout for them.

"You get to drive," I said when we reached the van.  "Straight to emergency."

"Thought that looked bad," Grik said.  He helped me up into the seat, and then he got slowly into the car and drove carefully away.

"Fortune and love favor the brave," I said.

"Ovid."  He glanced at me at a stoplight.  "I'm going to ask my sister to find you a date."

"Oh dear God, no!"

But I knew once a troll made up his mind, he wouldn't change it.

Flash Fiction # 498 -- Earth Bound/11

 

Epilogue
By the time we left the Earth system and headed to the farther stars, we already had reports of aliens far too close. I didn't say it, but I wondered if they had tagged the Belgium lately and kept an eye on us. There had been few reports of Were this close to Earth, so I didn't think it a coincidence.

We had trouble with some of the ship's crew the first few days. They were rude and condescending, and it was only my good manners that kept me from pounding their heads into the wall.

It probably also helped that they ran every time Krisin showed up. Since some of the crew had tried to drop him out in a space lane, they thought he might want revenge.

I had come to realize that he enjoyed scaring them off more.

The fighter crews made jokes, though, and that helped. Even so, it felt odd on our first flight out after the visit to Earth.

As soon as the Were ships appeared, we dropped into our usual routine. We took out two of the craft and damaged another before it destroyed one of our fighters that had lost all power. I could see the crew inside working frantically, but they couldn't see that big damned hole in their engine.

"Can we get them into the bay?" Lisel asked.

"We can try. Where are the Were?"

The others are holding them off. We don't have far to go."

I looked up, saw the faint outline of the ship ahead, and swept around the fighter. I couldn't see which one it was and decided it didn't matter. The crew didn't have much time.

We came back around. The other craft was starting to drift sideways, and we nudged it back as we went past, swung around, and came up behind.

Fighters are relatively slow compared to the big ships. We still hit with a bone-jarring crunch, but both of us were now moving at a good click toward the Belgium. We eased back, nudged to the side, and shoved again when it started to turn. It might have just drifted into place now, but I didn't want to take the chance after all of this.

We all made it. And we had a grand celebration that night. It was good to be home.

Things went back to normal.

We hadn't been back to Dayer's Station since we had saved it from raiders ... some time back. Time runs together, one battle after another. All I really remembered of late was a short time on Earth and throwing myself down the side of snowy mountains.

Dayer looked good as we took the shuttle in, Lisel, Krisin, and me with Captain Dundas, Chief Guard Marka, and a few more of her people. The three of us had been here alone the last time, hoping to stop Raiders before they blew the hell out of the Station and everyone in it. We'd saved them.

I hadn't considered how they would react to having us back.

A great yell went up as we came out of the airlock. I thought we were under attack and reached for my laser pistol, only to have a huge man grab me up in a tight hug.

"Welcome back!"

"Brick?" I gasped. "Put me down!"

Brick sat me back on my feet and grinned with delight. I looked around with surprise at the laughing crowd of humans and Catchin. More Catchin than had been here the last time, I realized. I saw no hint of animosity, either. Human and Catchin children were playing tag with each other around the adults.

Raiders had almost destroyed this place -- worse, raiders working with Were. That thought still brought a surge of rage that I had a hard time fighting back down again. This was what we fought for, out here at the edge of humanity.

"A feast," Brick said. His daughters clustered around him, and the woman who must be his wife fussed and grinned. "We started it as soon as Admin saw that the Belgium was coming in. I wasn't sure you'd ever want to come back!"

"Everything is alright here?" I asked. Then his words caught up with me. "Feast?"

"Everything is great here. We're doing fine. Come on!"  He caught me by the arm, and we were rushing away.

Then I heard something that sent a chill through me.

"Tana!" a voice screeched. It was the kind of voice you never forget.

I looked to my right to see Sally rushing my way.

"Oh no --"

I didn't have a chance to prepare. She caught me in a hug tighter than Brick's had been.

"I am so glad to see you!"

I squirmed out of her hold and stepped back in haste. "Sally? What are you doing here? On a colonist station."  I had visions of Jakeville dropping her off and not coming back. And now we would --

No. I saw the Councilor and her son coming our way. Krisin went off to meet them.

Sally had gotten her breath back. "I didn't think I would ever get a chance to thank you," she said in such a rush of words that I almost didn't understand her. Then I didn't believe her. "I am so sorry I tried to blow all of you up. And I love it here! And I have ideas! I think we should start exporting all sorts of copies of historical items like paintings and statues and such to colonies and stations so they can remember their links back to Earth and not forget the past we all share and -- are you all right, Tana?"

I was starring at her in mute surprise. "You know, that's not a bad idea."

She grinned with delight. We even sat together at the feast.

But I wasn't sorry when we left again, and she didn't go with us.

So, maybe there was hope for Earthers after all.

Flash Fiction # 497 -- Earth Bound/10

 Tana expected someone to stop her, and she had the feeling Sally expected the same thing. However, everyone had gone silent and still. When Tana was within a yard of the woman, Sally screamed and stumbled backward, falling on her ass.

"I have a plan," Tana said as she stood over the panicked woman. Her voice remained unnaturally calm. "How about this? You go out and check on the validity of the were yourself --"

"I will never leave Mother Earth! I will not travel with colonists --"

"Then we'll compromise," Councilor Jakeville said as she moved up by Tana. The woman looked formidable, and even Sally went silent. "You will come with me on an earth ship with no colonists aboard."

"You can't trust these people! Colonists! And look at their weapons. It is illegal --"

"The rifles have no power, as you well know," Marka replied and with just a touch more annoyance than the rest of them, except maybe for Tana. "You were the one who ordered the power cores removed."

"I did no such thing!"

"I recorded the meeting," Tom said and handed his pocket comp over to Councilor Jakeville.

"And why should we trust you?"

"He's my son."

Tana could almost see the woman's brain do a reset.

"I won't leave Mother Earth --"

"So, you don't care about the world enough to go make your own study of the situation? That's what you think of Mother Earth?"  Jakeville looked down at the woman with a show of disdain that was not lost on the others. "I am going out to examine the situation. I do believe in the aliens, but I will not let that blind me. We can't know until we see the truth."

"I agree," Captain Dundas said. She came close enough to put a hand on Tana's arm, probably to keep her from doing anything stupid now. Tana had the feeling both she and Sally had been maneuvered into this confrontation. It had been a perfect setup, and right there in front of all the reporters, too.

Sally glared. She finally got back to her feet, though, and tried to stare them down. The Councilor was not cowed, and Tana ... well, she had faced aliens in ships and face-to-face. A bad-tempered Earther was just an annoyance.

Besides, there was the realization that she would not have to travel with Sally, which improved her mood. She'd been crazy to even suggest it. The Councilor had probably saved Sally's life. The woman would not have survived, and Tana would never have dared come back to Mother Earth.

So there would have been an upside.

"We'll discuss our plans," the Councilor said with a nod for Sally to join her. "You won't have much time to prepare."

Sally made a slight sound of protest and had a touch of panic on her face. Jakeville, her guards, and her son went off with an increasingly loud Sally. Tana watched with much gratitude when they entered a lift, and the sound disappeared.

"Good God, that woman is --"  Captain Dundas stopped with a slight glance at the reporters. "Loud. She is loud."

No one argued.

"Can we go home now?" Lisel asked.  

"Not quite yet, but things will be better now. We are close to certain that all the terrorists have been rounded up. The damage, despite all the bombs and shooting, was minimal."

"Good," Krisin said. "I would hate to see such a historical building badly damaged."

Lisel and Tana hit him.  He laughed.

They had rooms in the hotel that night, food catered to their rooms the next day, and visits from various authorities, always accompanied by a Belgium guard. Captain Dundas even came to see Tana.

"You shouldn't be up on that leg," Dundas said when she let the Captain into her room.

"I don't let the door open until I confirm who is there," she said and crossed to settle in a chair. The Captain did not follow. "What is the problem now?"

"The President of the Earth Council will be here in a couple hours."

"President Stephenson, here."

"Yes. Do I need to tell you to behave?"

"Hey, I haven't killed anyone yet," Tana reminded her.

"Under the circumstances, I think I'll recommend you for a medal. But here is the deal. If you stay polite and out of trouble through the president's visit, I'll give you a reward."

"Reward?" she asked with some suspicion.

"Two weeks of ski lessons."

"So I can throw myself down the sides of mountains?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. I'll do my best."

"I'm sending up your dress uniform. The three of you are going to look professional. By God, these damned Earthers are going to respect you if I have to personally kick it into their little brains."

And with that, the Captain left.

So they made it through an impromptu state dinner where no one even insulted Krisin. The reporters were far more polite with armed guards around, and Sally had not been invited.

President Stephenson thanked them each by name, including Captain Dundas. They were not required to do more than say thank you in return. The food was excellent, and it turned out to be the best part of their visit so far.

The next day, Lisel went off to lounge on an island beach where Tana and Krisin would join him later. Tana felt odd about Lisel going off by himself. She wasn't sure if she mistrusted him or everyone else. Maybe both.

Krisin taught her how to properly throw herself down the side of mountains. He was popular, too, and she thought he might be doing good for their image.

Tana thought she would regret leaving the mountains, but one afternoon on a secluded island beach changed her mind.

Maybe Mother Earth wasn't so bad. Perhaps even some time away from the war and their fighter was a good idea, too.

She felt more human for it.

Flash Fiction #496 -- Earth Bound (Catchin)/9

 

Tana felt her body tense as she prepared to move, though no direction looked good --

"Oh, it's you," the woman said. Lasers lowered around them. The woman tapped something on her wrist. "Tell the Captain we found them. Come on, Tana. Let's get out of this damned cold."

"Marka," Tana said. She finally recognized the voice of the head of security on The Belgium. "Is that you under all those layers?"

"Huh," she said, shook off her hood, and uncovered her face. "Sorry. Can we go now?"

"Yeah. Please."  

Tana took Krisin's arm. He had started to slow again, and Lisel moved up to join them. Then he stopped and looked around.

"Marka, how many guards did you bring?"

"Eight -- oh."

There were nine.

"Drop your rifles and strip out of your hoods now! I want to see your faces!" Marka ordered. She had grabbed a laser pistol from her jacket pocket and swept in a semicircle. "Now!"

Rifles dropped, and people began to quickly uncover their faces except the one of their right who was fussing with his hood.

Tana shouted and leaped at the man, knocking him down --

While the person beside him drew a laser pistol and aimed at Krisin, of course.

"Sorry," she mumbled to the person who was floundering under her and threw herself at the person with the weapon.

No, not a wise move.

However, it drew the woman's attention. She had a steady hand, aiming --

A ball of snow plastered itself over the woman's goggles, momentarily blinding her, though she still fired. Tana had thrown herself in a different direction. The laser fire mostly missed her. At least it hit the already wounded leg. More snowballs flew, but the assassin began firing the laser in return, and the battle ended.

Krisin had disappeared, and she couldn't find Lisel, either. That left her as the only visible enemy, and the assassin spun as she started to scuttled away on all fours --

The woman laughed. Tana stopped and looked back at her, determined not to be shot in the back while running away.  

The woman had pulled aside her mask. She smiled with casual indifference as she took aim.

Tana had no idea how Krisin had gotten up in the tree.

He gave the loudest cat-like yowl Tana had ever heard from him as he leaped down at the assassin. Tana started to cry out in protest. However, the sound had not only drawn the woman's attention but also set another bombardment of snowballs startling her --

Right before Krisin landed on the woman. Even Tana winced as the woman went down and did not get back up after Krisin stood.

"That's much better," he said.

By then, Marka had arrived and was cuffing the still wobbly assassin, and Ret had come to deal with Tana's leg.

"Why didn't you just shoot her?" Tana demanded.

"The rifles are just for show. No power sources," Marka replied with a snarl. "Some stupid bitch of a local pointed out that we are colonists --"

"Blonde? Every third word is historical?" Lisel asked as he crossed to Krisin.

"That sounds like her," Marka agreed. "Sally?"

"That's her. I stopped listening to her."

"I vote we take her with us and drop her on the farthest outpost of humanity, in a truly historical setting," Tana suggested.

Tom nodded in agreement.

They were still careful going the rest of the way to the hotel. The local guards did not reassure them, but Marka and her people kept close around them.

They were inside -- which wasn't reassuring, either, until Captain Dundas and all of First Shift command showed up.

It would have been a sweet reunion if Sally hadn't shown up, racing down the hall with guards following her.

"Stop them! Colonists! Illegal!"  Her shrill voice seemed to fill the vast entry hall with a sound like metal shredding. Tana wanted to turn around and, if not teach her a lesson in politeness, at least tape her mouth shut.

"Tana --" Captain Dundas called her attention back. "And the rest of you. Behind us. Now."

Tana sighed and moved to obey, but Dundas leaned closer to her as she neared. "She's not working alone. Keep watch."

Well, that was better. Tana spread the word to Marka and then to her companions. By then, another woman with her own guards was coming behind them --

"My mother," Tom warned. "Councilor Jakeville and her personal guard. And they have working lasers."

Sally never heard what Tom said since she was screeching as loud as possible, some words not even coherent. Jakeville patted her son on the arm, signaled her people to spread out, and then walked up through the crowd and stood by Captain Dundas.

They had a full three heartbeats of silence.

"How dare you," Sally snarled, which was a little better than the screech. "How dare you stand with these aliens against humans --"

Tana took a deep breath. It did not help.

"You dare to call us aliens?" she finally answered and with more calm than anyone, including her, had expected. "Why don't I bring you a were or two? Or maybe a were mother ship --"

"They aren't real," Sally replied, fixating on her this time.

"What?"

"Oh, don't pretend with me, missy. We know the colonists have created the were to try to cow us into letting you aliens rule sweet mother earth and destroy it."

It wasn't just Tana who stared this time. Krisin was making odd little ... well, kitten sounds that Tana feared were going to break out into a whole-hearted laugh. Tana, though, wasn't amused.

"How about if we just step back and let the were come, since the deaths of more than a thousand colonists guarding you mean nothing," Tana replied, her voice gone hard. She stepped closer, and Lisel and Krisin didn't try to stop her.

And Sally wasn't smart enough to back away.